Hard contact lenses were developed prior to 1950 and the market for such lenses has enjoyed a steady growth.
Soft lenses entered the market in the early 1970's and have enjoyed increasing use. Hard lenses are hydrophobic whereas soft lenses are hydrophylic, that is, porous, and thus soft lenses require more finger handling and are more difficult to remove from a lens case as well as to place the lens in the eye. All of this handling requires excessive care and frequent cleaning of the lens by the user.
Contact lenses can be a breeding ground for a bug that can infect the wearer's eyes with pain, irritation, blurred vision or blindness. The acanthamoeba organism thrives in sea water, soil, air-borne dust, and warm, moist environments. Many of these elements can be found in an eye, creating a culture ripe for this organism. If a contact lens wearer does not regularly disinfect or sterilize the lens, acanthamoeba can spawn a bacterial infection known as acanthamoebacarititis, which is often mistaken for a herpes virus or conjunctivitis. The present invention promotes the cleaning of contact lenses on a regular basis, which tends to prevent the development of the acanthamoeba organism and other vision problems.
Conventional cleaning of contact lenses is most commonly accomplished manually by placing a lens in the palm of one hand, applying cleaning solution to the lens and working the cleaning solution into the lens with the finger tip of the other hand. Alternatively, the lens can be applied to a wetted finger tip, the solution applied to the palm of the other hand and the cleaning solution rubbed into the lens by a rubbing motion of the lens-carrying finger tip into the palm. One of the most common problems occurring is the fingernail of the manipulating finger contacting and damaging or tearing the lens during this procedure. It is also possible for the lens to become folded and damaged. Dirt or foreign matter is more commonly carried around fingernails and on fingertips than it is in the palm of the hand, particularly when a cleaning solution is applied to the palm of the hand.
Prior art tweezers hold items by gripping friction or pressure of opposing arms against the object being held.
Many styles of tweezers are known in the art, as exemplified by Kelly U.S. Pat. No. 4,199,180, which illustrates a substantial number of possible tweezer arms, however, Kelly's tweezers or "biased implement holder" have a split resilient ring with sockets for receiving various implements.
Lens cleaning devices are exemplified by Rhue U.S. Pat. No. 4,187,574, which teaches a housing having a scrubbing pad within in it, and an off-set dome, which causes movement of the lens within the cleansing apparatus. Mencke U.S. Pat. No. 4,533,399 teaches a method for cleaning a contact lens wherein a moistened, thermoplastic polymeric fibrous web contacts and rubs a contact lens to remove proteinaceous and particulate matter therefrom.
Ross U.S. Pat. No. 4,082,339 teaches a cup type instrument for insertion and removal of soft contact lenses.
Johnston U.S. Pat. No. 4,504,994 teaches apparatus for cleaning contact lenses in which a handle assembly carries a convex surface and a handle shank for manipulating a contact lens in a concave recessed surface within a body formed of soft, slightly abrasive material. The present invention avoids the abrasive material of the recessed receptacle.